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Determined Prayer

﻿We mentioned last time﻿ how our devotion to prayer will lead us to both support witnesses as well as build our own witness. Today, we take that built witness and we put determination behind it. Today, we decide that our prayers are going to have impact and the people we pray for and with are going to be blessed, saved and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

What Happens When Our Prayers Are Unanswered

Have you ever prayed for someone or something and the prayer not be answered? I'm not talking about God didn't give you what you asked for. I'm saying He didn't even respond with a chill up your spine. Especially when we are selflessly praying for loved ones and people we witness to, why is it that God-who called us to be witnesses by the way-seems to be silent? Perhaps there is an answer in Psalm 43:

In verse 2, David lets God know that he feels ignored or cast off by God even though he hasn't done anything noticeably wrong. Not only has God ignored him, but the enemy seems to have a foothold in his life and his pursuits. Does that sound like you sometime? Do you feel like you have done the right thing, but God doesn't seem to recognize it and the enemy seems to be winning? Take comfort knowing that David felt the same way here. However, David didn't stop with this complaint. He didn't give up in his pursuit of God and what God had called him to do.

Determined Prayer Looks Beyond Circumstance To Thanksgiving

David determined within himself that he was going to get the victory over his enemy and see his calling as king of Israel fulfilled. Instead of abandoning the God that seemingly was abandoning him (He wasn't by the way), David reached out to God in verse 3. Notice, he didn't ask for a swift victory or some supernatural judgment to be poured out. He asked for the light and truth of God to come to him. He wanted God's ways to direct him, not to the battlefield, but to a place of worship.

We can get caught up on why we aren't finding success in the witness field at times or why our loved ones continue to be imprisoned by sin and the enemy. Those people in our community we promised we would pray for their illness/finance/family? Their situation just gets worse. We can get bitter or mad at God for not intervening on our behalf, especially with all that we have done to follow after Him the right way. Or, we can turn to God and ask Him to lead us to a place where we can worship him the best way he knew how (v.4). When we get to that place of worship, we won't be able to hold on to those cast down moments, instead praising God and believing that He will answer.

When we have petitioned God for those we hope to win to His Kingdom, we need not wonder if God has heard our prayers (Psalm 34:17). He is already moving in the situation and He's not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). We only need now to get to a place of worship and praise so we can thank Him in advance and offer Him the best praise we have to give. That is determined (and faith filled) prayer as a witness. Giving all of our efforts over to God and believing in Him that He will work it out. Now where He'll lead us to as a result? That's for next time.

We want to hear from you on this subject. Do you have someone you have been praying for that God would save them or bring them back home? Put their name in the comments section here or on our Facebook page and we will pray with you for them and believe with you that God will bring them out. We'll be giving thanks to God with you in advance of that marvelous return.

Author

Chris Farris is the author of The Way, a manual detailing how to implement the Beatitudes into your life. He review events and other media and offers other insights into writing and working for the Kingdom of God.